software (osmag.net/T7bPnA) — is capable of.
To Dr. Frank, the technology has had a very real impact on clinical
as well as business outcomes. He cites one instance in which the cen-
ter's 4K imaging cast a different light on a patient's selection for ambu-
latory surgery and, as a result, changed the course of her surgical
treatment. "This happens infrequently," he says, "but when it happens
I'm comfortable that I'm making the decision with all the information
that I need."
The patient was undergoing a video pelviscopy for a simple ovarian
or adnexal finding. Her clinical evaluation was benign, with tumor
markers negative for cancer and a CAT scan showing no malignancy.
Two previous surgeries had been routine.
A look at the small uterus, however, told a different story.
Normal on one side, it was obscured by bowel adhesions or other
inflammatory complications on the other, says Dr. Frank. "What we
saw was significantly more involved than what we'd anticipated,"
he recalls, and a clear signal that a much more in-depth procedure
was going to be necessary, in a hospital OR, where advanced assis-
tance and backup will be able to anticipate the situation.
The procedure was halted and the patient was notified in recovery,
thanks to ultra-high definition and its image enhancement features.
"With the old equipment, it would have taken 30 minutes to make the
adjustments to see all I would've had to have seen," says Dr. Frank.
"In 40 years of experience, we've come a real long way," he says,
recalling that laparoscopic technology in the early 1970s required the
physician to peer directly into a telescopic eyepiece. "I can't predict
what the next step will be, but I'll be interested in watching the
progress in our industry."
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